What is the difference between goals and objectives?‎

In any career, it is important to understand goals and their benefits for both ‎you and your organization. A goal is a desired end result to which a ‎commitment is made. Goals are set in the workplace to motivate individuals ‎toward task completion and to enhance their efficiency and productivity. The ‎more specific and refined your goals, the more successful you will be at ‎achieving them.‎

Although the words ”goals” and ”objectives” are often used interchangeably, ‎they have different meanings.

Whereas a goal indicates a target to be ‎reached, an objective identifies the factors, competencies, or abilities ‎required to meet a goal.‎
For example, suppose your organization’s goal is to deliver 100 widgets to a ‎client this week. To reach this goal, the production department must meet its ‎objective to produce 100 widget casings. In addition, the packaging ‎department must meet its objective to package 100 widgets and the shipping ‎department must meet its objective for on-time delivery.‎

What are the benefits of setting goals?‎

Goal setting provides benefits to both the individual and the organization. The ‎primary benefit of goal setting, increased productivity, stems from these ‎individual benefits:‎
Clarified expectations ensure that employees clearly understand expectations ‎and do not waste valuable time on misdirected efforts.‎
Employees feel satisfaction with their performance and their jobs in general ‎when they accomplish goals. A sense of pride can translate into higher levels ‎of motivation and continued achievement.‎
Goals give managers and supervisors an impartial method for evaluating and ‎recognizing the employees performance. Public recognition can induce ‎healthy competition among employees, which can inspire them to continually ‎improve their performance.‎

Successful experiences tend to generate higher levels of motivation and ‎boosts in self-confidence. When employees achieve goals, they are willing to ‎accept more challenging goals and perform at higher levels.

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